The Access of Individuals to International Justice

Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade

Description

This book contends that the right of access to justice (at national and international levels) constitutes a basic cornerstone of the international protection of human rights, and conforms a true right to the Law. It amounts, lato sensu, to the right to the realization of justice.

In such understanding, it comprises not only the formal access to a tribunal or judge, but also respect for the guarantees of due process of law, the right to a fair trial, and to reparations (whenever they are due), and the faithful execution of judgments. On its part, the right to an effective domestic remedy is a basic pillar of the rule of law in a democratic society. In its part, the right of international individual petition, together with the safeguard of the integrity of
international jurisdiction, constitute the basic foundations of the emancipation of the individual vis-à-vis his own State.

This is a domain that has undergone a remarkable development in recent years. It is submitted that the right of access to justice belongs today to the domain of jus cogens. Without it, there is no legal system at all. The protection of the human person in the most adverse circumstances has evolved amongst considerations of ordre public. Such recent evolution has been contributing to the gradual expansion of the material content of jus cogens.

Furthermore, the very notion of "victim" (encompassing direct, indirect and potential victims) has been the subject of a considerable international case-law. Victims have had their cause vindicated in
situations of utmost adversity, if not defenselessness (e.g., abandoned or "street children", undocumented migrants, members of peace communities in situations of armed conflict, internally displaced persons, individuals in infra-human conditions of detention, surviving victims of massacres).

The Access of Individuals to International Justice

Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. The Historical Recovery of the Human Person as Subject of the Law of Nations2. The Exercise of the Right of Access to International Justice: The Right of International Individual Petition3. Access to Justice at International Level and the Right to an Effective Domestic Remedy4. The Interrelatedness between the Access to Justice (Right to an Effective Remedy) and the Guarantees of the Due Process of Law5. Acess to International Justice in Relation to the Interaction between International Law and Domestic Law6. Access to Justice: The Safeguard and Preservation of the Integrity of International Jurisdiction7. New Developments in the Notion of ''Potential Victim'': The Preventive Dimension of Protection8. The
Protection of Victims in Situations of Great Adversity or Defencelessness - I9. The Protection of Victims in Situations of Great Adversity or Defencelessness - II10. Access to Justice of Victims of Massacres and Crimes of State11. The Overcoming of Obstacles to Direct Access to JusticeConclusion Bibliography

The Access of Individuals to International Justice

Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade

Author Information

Antônio A. Cançado Trindade is a Judge of the International Court of Justice, the former President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and held the post of Professor of International Law at the University of Brasilia from 1978 to 2009.